Sunday, August 29, 2010

Happy!

Today was a hot, wonderful summer day. We had a lot of fun with the pups. They each got a shampoo bath, the first one this summer, very much needed. Denny has such an interesting coat. It's like a sponge, keeps the water in for a long time, even with vigorous toweling off several times, with every shake he's all wet again. But today it's more about Happy, and his fun with the water hose!This is my favorite photo, and if you can, look at it the largest size possible. I love how the camera got the water drops all around him, and in front of his chest.

Every time he sees us going to turn on the hose, he runs to look for the end of it, waiting for the water to come out. If we are not fast enough, he'll garb it and off he goes splish-splashing all over the lawn, and eventually digging in the mud he produced with the help of the hose. So we have to be quick, and send him flying around the lawn, chasing the falling water drops.

This is another one of my favorites:

And here he just looks like an idiot:

He's always getting quite a work out, while Denny is standing between my legs, the perfect place to NOT get wet, but watching the whole thing:

I'd appreciate if I could get some advice on how to cut the nails if the one who's nails are long, and in need of cutting, but does not cooperate = Denny! We tried a lot of things, and even got Valium form the Vet, but that made just his butt wiggle waggle a little, but the rest of the dog did not slow down, or let us clip a single nail. I don't know what to do now. If WE can't cut the nails, surely I can't go to a groomer with him? Any suggestions? So far we've always cut the nails of our dogs, but this little bugger wont let us.

26 comments:

AWWW Happy your such a handsome boy! What great shots with all the water droplets coming down. I love the one with his mouth wide open and his head turned to the side sooo cute! As for the nails, did the vets not clip them when Denny got fixed? Usually they do. We have to do the old pin him down trick with Molly, every time you go to grab her paw she moves it... but she is getting better and knows now it has to get done.

haha when the pictures were loading i thought the top one was a polar bear :)He does look very happy!

I have no idea with dogs, but one of our kitties hates having her nails cut, it is usually a two person thing.I sit her on my lap with her tummy facing the ceiling while my husbie holds the scruff of her neck... not hard, just carefully enough for her to feel the control but not to hurt her. I don't know how that works with dogs though?Maybe your Vet might have some tricks? Even a short colar tied to something so he can't move around much, as long as it doesn't hurt him, he will get over it not long after it's done. I just make sure to reward them each time, and slowly it gets easier.. they remember they get treats afterwards lol

For Denny's nails, why don't you try a rotary tool. It's basically sanding paper on a tube that will wear the nail down. I get my dogs used to it without turning it on at first then I will turn it on and do only a touch of each nail. If you do this every night for a month, he will get used to it and let you trim his nails this way. And the best thing is you can't cut the quick this way.

I only do cat nails, I wait for them to be lazy and sleepy. Mr D does Lady's nails, she wouldn't dare give him a hard time.Lady usually takes off when she see the hose picked up, but give her the pool and she's all over it. Even drags it out herself.

we generally have them do it when we take josie to the vet. with us, she squirms and struggles. with them, she sits still and they are done in a few seconds. they feel our nervous energy and react. the vet techs do it every day and have no anxiety about it.

Oh, what great photos! My shelties do the same thing with the hose. Bentley stays clear of all the water.

I agree with Wooly Knits n Bits. I use a Dremel to grind my dogs' nails. It's still a two person job but so much faster and better. The only thing to watch for is getting fur caught in it but your dogs don't have really long fur. It's possible to grind too far and nick the quick but it rarely happens.

Great photos! With regard to nail clipping, when Wilson was a puppy we had some success with filling a Kong dog toy (http://www.petco.com/product/104091/Extreme-KONG-Dog-Toy.aspx) filled with peanut butter. He worked to get the peanut butter out and I was able to clip his nails. Good Luck!

The other possible method is to exercise him on hard surfaces. Can you take him to a parking lot or similar and throw a ball or frisbee for him to chase? Scrabbling around on tarmac or concrete should do it.

We had good intentions with our first dog to always trim his nails, but we found that as long as he gets running time on pavement/rocky areas, we rarely needed to trim them. The yearly trim at the vet seemed to be enough...although when we got a new, slick floor, there were some issues, LOL.

Groomers are amazing, and our groomer can even pin down our crazy cat. The vets are usually good too, about clipping nails when they need to be. Though we walk our dogs several times a day, the nails DO need to be clipped, so they don't curl into the pads.

Those pictures of Happy are amazing!! He is so gorgeous... I have some pictures of Wilbur playing in the hose, too, but it's just not the same with a black dog. LOL!

Re nail trimming, I'm surprised the vet didn't do it when he was neutered. Our vets always ask if we need them to trim Wilbur's nails whenever we come in. I've always been able to easily do them myself thanks to a slice of sandwich cheese that he gets a little piece of with every snip. Also, it's common practice for groomers around here to do nail trims. And I'm sure they're all used to problems doggies who don't like to have them done.

I bring Nimitz to a groomer so no dog nail advice. I was talking with a woman recently who's miniature pincher had trouble with nail clipping and it was the sound that bothered him. They started to put cotton in his ears to dull the sound so he doesn't get nearly as upset now as he used to.

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About Me

I live in Canada now, but I'm originally from Austria.
My White Shepherd Happy, and Denny the mutt, are my constant companions. Maggie is my sons dog, but she's with me most of the day. I have two grown kids too ;o) by the way.